Private spas, butler service and iPad controls are impressive, but it's the superlative views that set these new hotel suites apart.

USP: The best views in Venice? The panorama from the Campanile in St Mark’s Square, for one, the broad sweep of the Venetian lagoon from San Giorgio Maggiore for another. And then? How about the extraordinary outlook from the Redentore Terrazza Suite of the Gritti Palace, the city’s most historic hotel? Climb a spiral staircase from this top-floor suite and you emerge on to a vast roof terrace for your exclusive use. Ignore, for now, the private pool and the Terrazza’s sheer size – any terrace is rare in space-starved Venice, let alone one this large – and instead let your eyes examine the astonishing view. The 360-degree panorama takes in a sea of towers and rooftops, the Lido and distant lagoon, Giudecca island, the loveliest stretch of the Grand Canal, the vast dome of Santa Maria della Salute and the distant outline of the Redentore, the Palladian church that gives the suite its name.

The details: The Redentore is not the largest or grandest of the Gritti’s 21 suites, all of which emerged from a restoration project earlier this year that cost £36 million and left the hotel closed for 15 months. Rather it is cosy and romantic, with rug-covered wooden floors, a colour scheme of rich, warm reds, pretty floral silk wall-coverings and all the many treasures – valuable antiques, prints, paintings, frescoes and fine period furniture – that lend the Gritti its sumptuous period splendour. The two-storey suite has private lift access from the lobby, discreetly integrated state-of-the-art technology, including Bang & Olufsen televisions, as well as incidentals, such as the lavish Acqua di Parma toiletries. There is no butler – but such is the Gritti’s level of service, it’s not something you are likely to miss. How long you will spend in the suite is a moot point, however, because the chances are you’ll be out on the terrace to eat, drink, sunbathe, share cocktails with a hundred of your best friends, lie in the pool and look at the stars or simply to stare in wonder at one of the most mesmerising views of any city in the world.

Price From £5,050 (all prices are per room per night)

Suite size 820sq ft, terrace 2,690sq ft

Opened February 2013 Tim Jepson

The Penthouse; Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris

USP: It’s like having your own pied-à-terre, but with five-star service – apart from one small gripe: the waiter was 10 minutes late with our room-service order. He swiftly poured us a glass of crisp Sancerre and we wandered out from the conservatory on to a balcony that seems to overlook the whole of Paris. Right on cue, the lights of the Eiffel Tower sparkled into life in front of us. “Yes, I ‘ad a word wiv zem,” said the errant waiter, without missing a beat. All those who serve in the George V’s penthouse suite have an answer for everything, it seems.

Out on the main balcony, you feel as though you are on the prow of a ship, with wave upon wave of Haussmann’s grid-like streets below you. The view of the Eiffel Tower may be the show-stopper but even on the haziest of days the 360-degree panorama takes in the Sacré Coeur Basilica and the American Cathedral in all their glory.

A winding staircase takes you up to a smaller, higher, more intimate balcony (the bridge, perhaps) where the perspective is even better: from there you can make out the rooftops of the Panthéon, Invalides and Madeleine. Even the bedroom comes complete with a private balcony and four-poster day bed.

The details: Housed on the eighth floor, this welcoming and spacious suite feels more like a private apartment than part of a hotel. Elegant and contemporary, rather than extravagant or ornate, the space, created by Pierre-Yves Rochon, successfully blends old and new: think Baccarat crystal glassware and Second Empire furniture, as well as iPads, plasma screens and an infinity bath with underwater lighting.

But it is the little things that set this suite apart: the pair of reading glasses for guests who might have forgotten theirs, the alternative set of toiletries (for those who don’t like Bulgari products, there is Sodashi), the plasma television hidden behind a mirror, the gargantuan walk-in shower surrounded by a winter garden of white orchids (by the master florist Jeff Leatham) and the second bathroom by the front door for those in a hurry to leave. Not that you will ever want to.

Price From £16,950

Suite size 1,630sq ft

Opened May 2012 Charles Starmer-Smith

JW Suite; JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, Dubai

USP: Forget Tibet. The new roof of the world is this airy presidential suite crowning a 1,164ft skyscraper overlooking Dubai’s emerging Business Bay district. It is at the top of the world’s tallest hotel, one of only two properties in Marriott’s vast portfolio to be granted the supreme title of Marquis. Your front door opens on the 69th floor, between a glitzy cocktail lounge on the 70th and a smart restaurant serving prime steaks on the 68th. Inside is a contemporary two-bedroom suite spread over two storeys, with floor-to-ceiling windows so guests can drink in the master-of-the-universe views. Point the chrome-plated binoculars one way and there are the golden beaches and turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf. Swivel round, and the uncaring desert yomps all the way to Oman. At night the glittering towers and ceaseless traffic of this fast-growing city blaze like the myriad jewels in its famous gold souk.

The details: The JW, one of a pair of identical penthouse suites, faces the sea and catches the sunset; the next-door Marquis Suite looks towards the city and the spire of Burj Khalifa. The decor is play-it-safe − executive black meets silvery grey, Middle-Eastern plush mingles with Asian calm. The spacious entrance lounge is a 21st-century take on the Arabic majlis where guests are traditionally welcomed, with wooden latticework recalling the mashrabiya window. From the private bar and dining room, guests climb a curved staircase to the master bedroom and marble bathroom with Jacuzzi. There is a smaller en-suite twin bedroom, and a grand study with a big desk and panoramic views that will undoubtedly inspire some blue-sky thinking. Soothing treatments can be arranged in the private spa room, where there is mood lighting, a Bose sound system and tip-top service. When it’s time for bed the curtains, lights and air conditioning are controlled by a touch-screen tablet, so you can truly fall asleep with your head in the clouds.

Price From £8,750

Suite size 6,716sq ft

Opened February 2013 Nigel Tisdall

Bellagio Rooftop Front Suite; Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como

USP: This rooftop eyrie may be five floors up from the shimmering surface of Lake Como, but guests feel intimately connected with the lake and its glamorous retro lifestyle. From the private terrace, you can watch seaplanes land, see the battello (vintage ferry) ply the waters between here and Bellagio – the village that gives the suite its name – or look down on Ru, the hotel’s varnished 1961 launch, cute as a bath toy and in every respect the opposite of a stretch limo. From up here, the view is just water, mountains and sky. As the sun sets, the majestic Grigne peaks glow pastel pink then fade to granite grey, colours brought inside by Venelli Kramer, the interior designer, who has melded old-world grandeur (chaises longues, mirrors in gilt frames) with fruity contemporary colours (cherry, plum, fuchsia) and stark white furniture straight out of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. It’s exactly what you might expect of a new suite grafted on to a timeless grand hotel.

The details: One of eight suites on the top floor, the Bellagio can be combined with a corner suite – or all eight can be rented as one. It comprises a bedroom with walk-in wardrobe, a living room with floor-to-ceiling windows, and a marble bathroom with double sinks, a Jacuzzi with myriad water-jet settings and a roomy shower with simple, chunky controls. Everything works perfectly, from the Loewe sound system to the flatscreen televisions and the Jacuzzi on the terrace, shielded from the wind by glass panels. Here, prosecco in hand, you can hydrotherapise, catch rays and admire that view. A butler is posted outside, should the plumbing fail.

Price From £1,010

Suite size 650sq ft, plus 300sq ft private terrace

Opened May 2012 Andrew Purvis

Presidential Suite; Waldorf Astoria, Berlin

USP: The area around the Zoologischer Garten may be a mix of Sixties office blocks and neon-fronted shops, but this district is on the up. The opening of the Waldorf Astoria is testament to that, and its Presidential Suite, at the peak of the city’s fourth-tallest building, provides an illuminating

360-degree panorama. From the living room, the nearby KaDeWe department store peeps from behind the jagged spire of the bombed Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church; beyond, the wooded expanse of Tiergarten gives way to a volley of weighty landmarks, from the Siegessäule Victory Column, crowned by a glistening golden angel, to the Brandenburg Gate, behind a canopy of trees. The most surprising view is much closer; one of the baths overlooks the zoo, where the amble of lumbering elephants and graceful giraffes provides a calming contrast to the distractions of this 24-hour city.

The details: Taking up the whole of the hotel’s 31st floor, the Waldorf Astoria’s two-bedroom Presidential Suite is a demurely decorated space, soothingly finished in creams, golds and browns. At one end of the elongated sitting room, a dining table and grand piano are on hand for dinner guests; at the other, couches surround a gas fire and a large-screen television made unobtrusive by a mirrored panel. Light and uncluttered, the main bedroom leads to a walk-in wardrobe and a sprawling bathroom with a private balcony positioned to catch the sunset.

During my stay, soon after the suite opened, I encountered problems with the gadgetry and, worse, a faulty fire alarm that screeched into urgent action in the middle of the night. I have since been assured that these teething problems were swiftly dealt with. German efficiency triumphs again.

Price From £4,215

Suite size 3,000sq ft

Opened January 2013 John O’Ceallaigh

Suite Me; Me London

USP: There isn’t another room in London like this, at the top of Foster+Partners’ architecturally adventurous hotel, with a pyramid-shaped space at its heart. Because the second-floor living room of the duplex suite is round and encased in glass, sitting in it is like being in a lighthouse, overlooking a sea of roofs, cars and people below. Across the road, guests in the One Aldwych hotel are getting undressed, unaware that from this glass eyrie you can see everything. To the west, Nelson’s Column rises into the sky, with Buckingham Palace glowing golden behind, and to the east are the glinting skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. Inside, you’re encased in a glass cocoon, with speakers in every ceiling, an events manager to organise private dinners and drinks – and direct access to Radio, the hotel’s rooftop bar.

The details: If the entrance hall outside feels slightly mausoleum-like, clad in black marble and dimly lit, the interior of the suite couldn’t be any lighter or brighter. However, there is minimal colour. Furniture, candles, soap, towels, carpets, marble floors, flowers – even the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest-style padded leather walls – are white. There aren’t many places to lounge, either. Should you and your guests want to sit, you can do so in a long row on a white upright banquette – unless you fancy lying almost supine in a sculpted leather armchair or perching downstairs around a white oval dining table. The bedroom, with a secluded balcony, is cosy, but with a walk-in wardrobe, marble bathroom with generous shower and oval bathtub (plus Apivita amenities), who needs a huge bedroom? Besides, who wants to sleep when there is so much to do and guests have so many toys to play with? There’s a Bose audio system, three televisions, spa treatments, a “mind and body” minibar, an iPad – and a complicated electronics system to control them all. Then there is a charming “Aura” team member to help you work the lights/phones/music and deliver sensational Italian cuisine from Cucina Asellina. The guests before me, apparently, drank and danced until 4am. They had the right idea; in a suite designed for partying, why would you do anything else?